The real future of financial planning is bright light and fresh air – if we want it
Professional Planner was a media partner to the AMP University Challenge 2014, and attended the announcement of this year’s prizes announcement, for the five finalists, last Thursday evening. There were nine kids – I use the term advisedly – in the running for the top prize. Two were competing as individuals and there were three
October 13, 2014
What dreams are made of: unleashing the power of imagination in leadership
Leadership once used to be all about performance-related analytical hard skills, but in an environment where everybody can access the same knowledge, things like imagination, intuition and empathy are taking on an increasingly important role. Lecturer for the Macquarie Graduate School of Management (MGSM) Female Leadership Course, Silvia Damiano, has taught and worked in business schools
October 13, 2014
Top fund managers recognised in the
Professional Planner|Zenith Fund Awards
The winners of the Professional Planner|Zenith Fund Awards 2014 – including the prestigious Fund Manager of the Year and the Distributor of the Year – were announced this afternoon at a luncheon at the Ivy Ballroom in Sydney, attended by more than 300 of the industry’s leading participants and VIP guests. Top honours went to
October 10, 2014
ASIC risk advice report draws a disjointed response from industry groups
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s (ASIC) report into the quality of life insurance advice has highlighted divisions between the industry’s professional and industry associations. The regulator yesterday released its long-awaited report into the life insurance sector, which it raised as a red flag issue for financial advice in August. It found over a third
October 10, 2014
Count Financial’s big jump in inquiries as accountants ponder July 2016 deadline
Count Financial has experienced a significant increase in the number of inquiries it is fielding from accountants about licensing options for when the accountants’ exemption expires in July 2016. The chief executive of Count, David Lane (pictured), says the firm had been having between five and 10 conversations with accounting firms each month up until
October 10, 2014
University Challenge turns up financial planning’s bright lights of the future
The high calibre of university-qualified entrants to the financial planning profession has been illustrated vividly with the winners of the AMP University Challenge 2014 announced last night following an exhaustive selection process that for some participants began back in March. A final-year duo from Griffith University, Stephen McLay and Matthew Baldi (pictured), took out first
October 10, 2014
Risk and reward: a fine line between a lucrative insurance offer and a regulatory trap
The government’s Financial System Inquiry (FSI) has gone some way to clearing the bottleneck of vested interests and suggested solutions around fixing Australia’s life insurance industry. The FSI interim report was released in July, with the final report due in November. The inquiry’s broad scope includes Australia’s life insurance industry, with the issue of underinsurance
October 10, 2014
FPA’s Reddacliff quits association full-time to focus on wider range of interests
The Financial Planning Association of Australia’s general manager of member growth and marketing, Tom Reddacliff, has quit the FPA full time and will consult to the organisation on a part-time basis. Reddacliff joined the FPA in May this year after leaving MLC. His brief was primarily to work with the association’s professional practices, members and
October 08, 2014
BT’s new risk profiling tool and model portfolios to help sharpen advisers’ focus
BT Financial Group is developing a new risk profiling tool, rationalising its model portfolio range and, via changes to BT Wrap, introducing a dealer-group model framework which will reduce the administrative burden on financial planners using model portfolios. The package of changes is designed to allow advisers to focus more closely on providing holistic advice
October 08, 2014
Tapping the financial planning potential of offshore Australians
Asian growth is fuelling an Australian expatriate-focused financial planning approach at Sydney-based practice Aqua Private Wealth. “If you think about the standard executive and family back in Australia, there’s not the same call to action to get your financial house in order at home as when you’re about to go offshore,” says Sean Abbott, Aqua’s
October 08, 2014
Keeping the love alive in a client relationship is not rocket surgery
Every year at the end of our mystery-shopping program, we contact the individuals and couples who began a relationship with a financial adviser and ask them a series of questions about how satisfied they are; if they would recommend the adviser to someone else; and what else they would buy from the adviser. The results
October 08, 2014
Inside MLC’s compliance grading system for financial planners
Compliance is a key comparison financial planners cite when weighing up the pros and cons of joining a bank-owned versus non-aligned Australian Financial Services licensee, but what does this really mean? According to James Meade, general manager, MLC Financial Planning and Garvan, adviser profiling is central to the compliance program deployed across National Australia Bank’s
October 07, 2014
